By the numbers, sports sponsorship continues to grow, but by other indications (major teams failing to secure sponsorships, sponsors failing to justify their investments), the sponsorship industry needs improvement. This all boils down to poor sponsorship valuation.
There's an interesting article in this month's issue of SportBusiness International that discusses the fact that poor research and planning is keeping sports sponsorship from meeting its potential. The author discusses five key areas where research should be improved:
- Research the consumer - We often value sponsorships based on TV audience delivery, but sponsorship ideally should be platform neutral-we shouldn't treat it like a media buy
- Brand Fit with the property - It's not just about if the property fits the brand. The brand should also fit the property, so people will be more likely to accept this link as authentic
- ROI research - Tracking TV viewers is only a small part of the overall picture
- Measure Recognition - We often measure awareness, but consumers are bombarded by so many messages that this ignores the "recognition" factor that often triggers an emotional response and, if triggered, can leave a positive impression of the brand on the consumer
- Don't attribute all successes (or failures) to sponsorship - Examine all aspects , including activation, media, communications, etc.
I would add another thing to think about before deciding to sponsor a property (as indicated by my horrible graphic): Besides the sponsorship fitting with the brand (and vice-versa), does the sponsorship fit with the current advertising and communications? For example a football sponsorship may fit with the brand (or the decision-makers may think so) but if the brand is currently running ads with ballet dancers, how does a football sponsorship fit into this mix? Either it doesn't or the brand needs to get some updated creative.
On another note, due to the growth of the Sports Business Carnival and my original intentions to have this be something bigger than just a Take A Peck feature, I've decided that it's time to start having other sports business blogs host the carnival. The November 19th edition will be housed at Sports Agent Blog. You can submit articles directly to Darren Heitner --heitner(at)gmail.com--or through the Blog Carnival main page. The goal is for this to be hosted by all the major sports business blogs. I'm sure the Carnival will return here again (and often), but I just wanted to let everyone know what the plans were.